Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Being customer focus doesn’t sell anymore

In most
business seminars or schools, you will be told that being a customer centric
business will help you earn more market shares. Whether that still holds today,
is left for scholars to tell us. Every business you can think of tries to
define its business and marketing activities around the customer. You hear
phrases like - know your customers’ need and provide it for them, understand
your customer, get closer to your customers etc.

If business is
as easy as being customer focus, every entrepreneur will be smiling to the bank
everyday. The fact that not all businesses that are customer centric succeed
means that that strategy is now old; you need a broader definition of your
market. Even the customers know that your business is not about them; rather it’s
more about you.

Today, business
has moved from being customer centric to being people centric. Successful businesses
have discovered that focusing on your customers is such a myopic way to do business
in the 21st Century considering that needs change with time. When Philip
Kotler discussed about the holistic kind of marketing, he was talking about doing
business in such a way that both your customers and non customers benefit from
your activities directly or indirectly. This type of business mindset recognizes
that everything matters – not just your customers alone.

The key to
engaging more people in your business is to go beyond designing your product
and all your marketing campaign around your customers. Think of the value an
individual will experience through your business or product.